Putting A Price On COVID-19 Treatment Remdesivir

[LiberalArkie]

May 8, 20208:31 AM ET



Now that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized remdesivir for emergency use in seriously ill COVID-19 patients, the experimental drug is another step closer to full approval. That's when most drugs get price tags.

Gilead Sciences, which makes remdesivir, is donating its initial supply of 1.5 million doses, but the company has signaled it will need to start charging for the drug to make production sustainable. It's unclear when that decision might be made.

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If the price is based just on the cost of making the drug, then a 10-day course of remdesivir should cost about $10, according to the ICER report. (Gilead said results of a recently completed study suggest a five-day course of treatment may be just as effective.)

But if the drug is priced based on the drug's effectiveness, ICER estimates it should cost around $4,500 — assuming the drug is proven to have some benefit on mortality. If it doesn't and the drug only shortens hospital stays, that value-based price goes down to $390.

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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/08/851632704/putting-a-price-on-covid-19-treatment-remdesivir

[Pantagruel]

1. If the drug shortens stays

and the average daily cost of a hospital bed is $4,000- you do the math.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Therein lies the problem with "for profit health care."

[Bayard]

3. Any bets on who's going to get that first 1.5 million doses?